During the plague, Meng Anzhi took in more than a dozen beggar children and raised them on the estate, visiting them every three days to teach them about pharmacology.
They returned rather late today; it was already late afternoon when Meng Anzhi and Qing He left the manor.
The two sat on the oxcart, chatting as they processed herbs. "Young master," one of them said, "I heard from Shopkeeper Wang next door that Xiaohua is getting married this New Year."
Meng Anzhi leaned against Dahuang, "Well, the groom's mother is sick and wants to move the wedding date forward. Xiaohua has been..."
The oxcart came to a sudden halt, followed by a violent shout, "Get down, all of you! Hand over all your money, jewelry, and valuables! If you're short a single penny, I'll tear you apart!"
Two burly men, carrying large wood-chopping knives and dressed in tattered winter clothes, stared at the two men with fierce expressions.
Qing He instinctively shielded Meng Anzhi behind her, her heart pounding as she looked at the bandits. Mustering her courage, she said, "Brother, we have no past grudges or present animosity. Besides, my sister and I are cleaner than you; we wouldn't have any jewelry."
The bandit leader spat angrily, "Damn it, how did you know I'm bald?"
Qing He was so startled that she quickly waved her hands, "No, no, big brother, how would I know you're bald when you're wearing a hat? Here, I have five taels of silver, take it all, consider it my treat to drinks."
The bandit leader snatched the purse from Qing He's hand, tossed it around, and glared at Meng Anzhi with ill intent. "What are you thinking? You think this has nothing to do with you? Give me the purse... If you dawdle any longer, I'll chop you up."
Meng Anzhi tore off her purse and handed it to him.
The man pinched her, "Dressed like a proper gentleman, yet you're a penniless wretch..." He glanced down at Meng Anzhi's lower body, "Take off your cloak. You're still wearing a mink coat. I've been lying here waiting for you for ages, I'm practically frozen."
Meng Anzhi's gaze darkened slightly. "Does my elder brother know me?"
"We've taken their money, so we're obligated to solve their problems. That's all I can say, little sister. Blame it on your Anzhi Hall; it's gotten too big and is blocking other people's path to wealth."
"Bullshit! My family runs an honest business; we're not trying to make money off anyone..."
The bandit leader instantly pointed his broadsword at Qing He, "Who are you calling a fart? Why are you shouting so loudly? You're a bandit, and I'm a bandit. If it weren't for this little girl calling me 'brother,' I wouldn't have agreed to this."
Even I wouldn't say this much, but you, you old codger, I knew you weren't a good person.
He called me bald and called me a farter. Come on... here's a knife, you think you can rob me? See how tough you are.
Qing He was too frightened to make a sound, and chuckled at the bandit leader, "Big brother... you've already taken it and warned us, can we leave now?"
The bandit leader glared at him, "I came out in the dead of winter to steal two purses, and you want me to go back? What were you thinking...? Your master wouldn't even keep you as a pig."
Meng Anzhi said sweetly, "Brother, how did you know she was a maid?"
The bandit leader said smugly, "Just looking at her poor, wretched appearance, I knew she was destined to be a slave... Hey, hey, hey... are you glaring at me?"
Qing He took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and stubbornly denied it, "No."
"Bullshit! I clearly saw your eyes widen, and you're still saying you weren't glaring at me... Alright, alright, don't leave now, come with me to the mountain to be my wife."
Qing He stood up, but when she saw the knife tip pressed against her stomach, she silently sat back down.
"Brother, look at me, I'm so skinny, it wouldn't be good for me to be a bandit's wife. Why don't you come with me, and I'll take care of you?"
"Pah, you little wench, how dare you ask my eldest brother to marry into your family? Does my eldest brother think he's the kind of person who lives off women..."
The bandit henchman finished speaking in one breath, noticing the different expressions on Meng Anzhi's and Qing He's faces.
His anger flared up, "I'll kill you, you little wench..." Before he could finish speaking, he raised his broadsword and stepped forward, only to be kicked away by the bandit leader.
"Get lost! Have you forgotten the rules of our village? We only rob, we don't kill..."
The younger brother, clutching his backside, pointed at Qing He, "She... she... she laughed at me..."
"If you don't speak, she'll know you stutter. You should always look for the cause within yourself and not blame others all the time," he said, then looked at Meng Anzhi.
"Why aren't you taking your clothes off yet? Don't you know it's cold? If you know it's cold, why didn't you come home earlier? What time is it? I haven't even eaten lunch waiting for you."
Meng Anzhi, hands clasped in her pockets, said, "Big brother, tell me who sent you, and I'll pay double."
"Nonsense, I understand the code of honor among men."
Meng Anzhi raised an eyebrow. Her aunt said that the code of honor in the martial arts world meant that if the price wasn't agreed upon, it had to be raised... "Brother, how about one hundred taels? Tell me who the other party is, and I promise I won't betray you."
The underling secretly tugged at the bandit leader's sleeve, but the leader shoved him away, stubbornly declaring, "No, I'm not the kind of person to betray my employer."
One hundred and fifty taels...
"No... People should be honest."
"Two hundred taels..."
"That won't work..."
"Two hundred and fifty taels..."
"Okay, I agree, pay up..."
The underling frantically tugged at the bandit leader's clothes, "Brother, we... we... we... we..." He hadn't even finished saying that he could rob bandits without haggling.
Then the bandit leader began to boast, " Benevolent Heart Hall, Hundred Herbs Hall, Spring Restoration Hall, Vast Virtue Hall, Longevity Preservation Hall, Spring Harmony Hall, Distant Apricot Hall..."
Meng Anzhi asked in surprise, "They all came looking for you?"
The bandit leader's expression was indescribable. "Join forces? Do you even know what joining forces means? With your connections, people will chip in to teach you a lesson. Go back to your beds tonight and think about whether you're a complete failure as a person."
Seeing that Meng Anzhi remained motionless, he glared at her and said, "Give me the money... What are you thinking?"
"What are you doing robbing me for?"
"Lock her up for five nights, starve her for fifteen meals, we'll just scare her a bit and then release her. But if Anzhi Hall doesn't behave like a human being again..." The bandit leader made a throat-slitting gesture.
Meng Anzhi nodded... "Understood."
"Got it? Time to pay?"
"No..."
The bandit leader stared at her blankly for a long while, then seemed to realize something. Enraged, he yanked off his hat and slammed it to the ground. "Oh my God, we've been tricked!"
He pointed at Meng Anzhi, gritting his teeth, "No wonder Anzhi Hall was expelled from the party; you even fooled bandits!"
Meng Anzhi laughed and said, "Big brother, who carries two hundred and fifty taels with them when they go out? Why don't you come home with me to get it?"
"Go away, go away, go away..." the younger brother shouted anxiously from the side.
The bandit leader glanced sideways, "Do you think it's feasible to go..."
"Fuck you..."
The bandit leader's face turned ashen. He slapped his underling on the head, yelling, "Shut up, you idiot!"
The younger brother was extremely aggrieved, looking at the bandit leader with tears in his eyes. He wasn't stupid; he just had a stutter.
"Brother, I, Anzhi Hall, value my integrity above all else. You won't be shortchanged a single penny if you come home with me."
The bandit leader took a deep breath. "What kind of credibility do you, Anzhi Hall, have? Alright, stop wasting your breath. Send her to report..."
The bandit leader pointed at Qing He, "Tell your master it's two hundred and fifty taels; if it's a penny less, he'll kill her."
Qing He muttered softly, "If you don't tell, won't you kill me?"
The bandit leader instantly exploded, "I'm doing this for the people, ridding the world of a scourge! Someone like you, after I kill all the government officials, they'll all have to send me a plaque... Are you going or not? If you don't, I'll stab you!"
"Release it, release it..." The younger brother pointed at Qing He's retreating figure, stamping his feet anxiously.
The bandit leader nodded in satisfaction. "Yes, let her go home and get the money."
"Release the tiger back to the mountain..." The younger brother's face turned purple as he finally managed to utter the words.
The bandit leader and his henchmen looked at each other in dismay, then shouted that things were going badly and turned to give chase.